Why do different regions of Maharashtra experience varied levels of water stress?
After the deficient monsoon last year, the Maharashtra government declared many parts of the State to be drought-hit.
This situation is in sharp contrast with the State’s coastal areas, where rainfall has often been in excess, leading to severe flooding.
Marathwada’s predicament is shaped by its location, topography, soil type, agricultural practices, and crop choices.
Why is sugarcane production not suited for regions with less rainfall?
Marathwada’s agricultural practices are not well suited to its low rainfall.
A major contributor to the region’s water crisis is sugarcane cultivation.
Sugarcane requires 1,500-2,500 mm of water in its growing season.
While pulses and millets require four or five irrigations across their crop life, sugarcane needs to be irrigated almost every day.
Today, the crop occupies 4% of the total cropped area in the region and consumes 61% of the irrigation water.
As a result, the average river outflow in the upper Bhima basin has almost halved.
What is meant by the rain-shadow effect?
Marathwada lies in the rain-shadow region of the Western Ghats.
When moist winds from the Arabian Sea encounter these mountains, they rise and cool, causing heavy rainfall (2,000-4,000 mm) on the western side.
But by the time these winds cross the Ghats and descend into Western Maharashtra and Marathwada, they lose most of their moisture, leaving Marathwada much drier (600-800 mm).
How can supply-side solutions help the situation?
Supply-side solutions are about making the most of available resources.
They include classical watershed management work (such as building water-conserving structures like contour trenches, earthen bunds, gully plugs, etc.).
Second, rainwater that runs off agricultural fields carries the very soil that doesn’t allow the water to percolate. So many of these structures accumulate silt.
Funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme could be used to design silt-trapping mechanisms and organise training programmes for farmers on periodic desilting.
Marathwada must also shift to other high-value, low-water-using crops, while sugarcane production must move to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.
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